Exhibiting device for show-windows



(No Model.) E. G. BLAKE. EXHIBITING DEVICE FOR SHOW WINDOWS, &c.

Patented Nov. 18, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELBRIDGE G. BLAKE, OF FARMINGTON, MAINE.

EXHIBITING DEVICE FOR SHOW-WINDOWS, 840.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,991, dated November18, 1890.

Application filed July 15,1890. Serial No. 358,796. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, ELBRIDGE G. BLAKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Farmington, in the county of Franklin and State of Maine,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Exhibiting Devicesfor Sl1ow-\Vindows or other Places; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inexhibitstands for show-windows, it being particularly designed for usewith jewelry, cutlery, and other bright or polished articles, althoughit may be employed with equal facility and value for the purpose ofexhibiting any objects or articles, the purpose of the invention beingto provide simple, cheap, and efficient means of the kind indicated; andthe invention therefore consists, essentially, in the novel arrangementof mirrors or reflecting devices, together with supporting-shelves onwhich the objects to be exhibited are arranged, and, further, in certaindetails in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts,substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is afront perspective View of my improved exhibit-stand for showwindows.Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the same'on a somewhat smallerscale.

Like letters of reference designate corre sponding parts throughout boththe figures of the drawings.

The frame of my improved exhibit-stand for use in show-Windows withjewelry, cutlery, and other objects to be displayed may be constructedin any desirable and eonvcnient manner, being of a suitable size toenable it to be easily placed within the window, and varying in form toadapt it for use in windows of different kinds.

A denotes the base of the frame of my in1- proved exhibit-stand.

B B designate two vertical mirrors of suit able height and size. Theyare mounted upon the base A. They are placed at an angle to each other.This angle may vary so as to be greater or less, as desired. It ispreferably a right angle. The rear edges of the two mirrors meetveryclosely, so that the uncture is hardly perceptible, and there is nobreak in the glass or the continuity of its reflection, so that the twomirrors in reality constitute together but one mirror, which may be saidto be an angular mirror. This vertex of the angle at which thetwoinclined mirrors meet is located at a convenient distance from the frontedge of the base A, while the outer ends of the two mirrors are locatedat said front edge of the base. It will be obvious from an inspection ofthe arrangement of the mirrors that any object placed in front of themwill be multiplied in its appearance fourfold, so that there will seemto be four times as many objects presented to the eye as there reallyare. In this Way the beauty of the jewelry display may be very in uehincreased, and with a comparatively few articles a liberal exhibit maybe made to the public by means of the stand thusconstrueted and placedin any show-window or other place.

In order to conveniently arrange the articles to be displayed, I providea shelf or a series of ascending stepsor shelves. These may vary in formand arrangement within wide limits, so as to adapt them for variousarticles to-be shown, and also adapt them for location in differentkinds of windows; but I prefer to provide them having a curved form,each one being of lesssize than the one next lower. These shelves havetheir opposite ends placed closely against the faces of the two mirrorsB B.

In the drawings a series of shelves is shown as consisting of themembers 0, 0, O O O and C C is the lower shelf, and is obviously thelargest of the series, the top shelf being lettered O and being thesmallest. 011 each of these shelves jewelry or other objects maybedisplayed.

In the d rawiu gs l have shown several small globular objects placedupon the shelves simply byway of example and illustration, in order toindicate how the device may serve its practical purpose.

It will be seen by referring to Fig. 1 how the mirrors will multiply theeffect. Then the curved shelves are used and the mirrors are set at anangle of ninety degrees, the result will be to present to the eye anascending series of completely circular shelves, on each of which theseries of objects are arranged. This is clearly shown in Fig. 1. Ofcourse in this example the arc of each shelf is a fourth of a circle,and so as the mirrors multiply the effect four times complete circularshelves will be exhibited to view. Thus with a very few objects placedupon the shelves of this device a very large number will be exhibited,and the illusion will be very perfect and striking to the eye, and itwill seem as if the entire window was filled with jewelry, when inreality there are but a trifling number of articles.

The improved exhibiting-stand forming the subject-matter of the presentinvention may comprise simply the two mirrors and the ascending seriesof shelves which I have just described, or it may have end mirrors aswell as the front mirrors, which are exposed to view at the end of theshow-window, while the mirrors 13 I3 serve to furnish show exhibits atthe front of the show-window.

In the drawings I have represented mirrors arranged at each end of thedevice. Take, for instance, the left-hand end. Two mirrors E E, similarto the mirrors 13 B, are arranged at right angles to each other, and areof the same form and perform the same function as the mirrors B B inevery respect exactly, with the exception that in the present example ofthe invention they are smaller; also, at this end of the device a seriesof ascending steps of circular form is provided, consisting of the stepsG, G, G and G. Objects located upon these steps will be reflected by themirrors E E, so that there will apparently be four times as many objectsas there really are, and the same pleasing effect will be made upon thecasual observer as he looks in at the end of the window. Furthermore, atthe other end of the device I have also provided an arrangement ofmirrors D D, similar to the mirrors In E, placed likewise at rightangles, and between them is another series of ascending steps ofcircular form and consisting of the members F, F, F, and F Thus at thisend of the device is found the same substantial arrangement of mirrorsand showshelves which are placed in the front side of the device andalso in the other end, so that a person looking in at the other end ofthe show-window will observe the multiplied effect. The exhibit-standmay be constructed with simply the front mirrors, or with the frontmirrors and mirrors at one end or with the front mirrors and mirrors atboth ends; or there may be some peculiarlyshaped windows in which thefront mirrors will be dispensed with and the end mirrors employed; butall of these changes and variations will not be a departure from thescope or spirit of my invention as I have outlined it herein,

bu 1. will simply be changes naturally incident to the practicalemployment of the invention in accomplishing a useful and novel purpose.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an exhibiting-stand for show-windows, the combination, with twoVertical mirrors inclined at an angle to each other and having theirrear edges meeting closely in a vertical line, so as to formsubstantially one continuous mirror, of a series of ascending horizontalshelves having their opposite ends placed closely against the opposingfaces of the two mirrors, substantially as described.

2. In an exhibit-stand for show-windows, the combinatiomwith a series ofascending shelves of circular form, and each having a length equal tothe fourth of a circle, the circles bein g concentric, and two mirrorsplaced at right angles with a close rear junction, so that theirreflection may be continuous and they may operate to multiply therepresentation of the objects on the shelves, substantially asdescribed.

In an exhibit-stand for show-windows, the combination of the series ofshelves, two mirrors located at an angle to each other and placed ateach side of said shelves, and another series of shelves at one side ofthe first series, together with two other mirrors placed at right.angles to each other at the sides of the last-named series of shelves,substantially as described.

4. The combination of the base A, the mirrors B 13, placed atrightangles to each other, the series of ascending shelves between saidmirrors, consisting of the members U, 0, C C, C, and C the pair of endmirrors E E, placed at right angles to each other, and the series ofascending steps G, G, G and G3 between said mirrors and the other pairof end mirrors D D, together with the series of ascending steps F, F, W,and F between said mirrors, substantially as described.

5. In an exhibit-stand for show-windows,the combination of the base, twovertical mirrors placed at an angle to each other opposite the longeredges of said base, a series of shelves between said mirrors, anotherpair of mirrors placed at a suitable angle to each other opposite oneend of the base, a series of shelves between said mirrors, and anotherpair of mirrors placed opposite the other edge of said base at asuitable angle to each other, and a series of steps between saidmirrors, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

E'LBRIDGE G. BLAKE. Witnesses:

FRANK W. BUTLER, BYRON M. SMALL.

